Ben Nevis 23 year old 1996 Single Malts of Scotland, cask 1783

Monday's 23 year old Ben Nevis, distilled in 1996, matured in American oak and bottled by Elixir Distillers, was fabulous. Today's 23 year old Ben Nevis was also distilled in 1996, matured in American oak and bottled by Elixir Distillers. I normally don't the opportunity to compare such similar whiskies, but Ben Nevis, man.

On a related note, I'm glad to see bourbon cask Ben Nevii finally getting some reviewer love. Nevis sherry casks had been getting most of the attention over the past few years, as sherry casks often do. Of course, this will mean these single bourbon casks will also go up in price now. Yay.

Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region: Highlands (Western)
Independent Bottler: Elixir Distillers
Range: Single Malts of Scotland
Age: exactly 23 years old (5 Nov 1996 to 5 Nov 2019)
Maturation: hogshead
Cask #: 1783
Outturn: 214 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 52.3%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose reads heavier on this '96, when compared to Monday's '96. Less fruit, more dried leaves and brine. Some fresh eucalyptus and mint leaves as well. Some sharp cheddar, bung cloth, a few limes and lemons. Though it has a thick mouthfeel, the palate actually comes across lighter and very fruity, especially on tart berries. There's also some cocoa and salt. It intensifies with time, picking up some burnt plastic and coal smoke notes. But those are wiped away by a booming sweetness. The intensity continues on into the finish. Very tart, very sweet and just a whiff of smoke.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or > ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Ah here are some fruits from the nose, specifically white peaches. Some flower blossoms, soil and brine too. Not much change in the palate. Perhaps more on white peaches than berries now. A bit more bitterness. Otherwise it remains the same. The finish softens up, less intense, less tart. Still very sweet, though. Maybe some hints of earth and lemons.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

A Ben Nevis for the sweet tooth. It's almost too sweet for me, as the sugar starts shouting down most of the other elements. Excellent mouthfeel though, and a good nose, before or after dilution. Maybe a little water does it some good overall.

Aaaaaaaand prices have already gone up, with this bottle weighing in at €220. Yeesh. It's still around if you're willing to fork over that much Euro. I'll opt out.

Availability - The usual specialty retailers in continental Europe
Pricing - €200-€230
Rating - 87

Ben Nevis 23 year old 1996 Whisky Trail Birds Series

Did you survive that week of American whiskey reviews? No? Dreadfully sorry to hear that. Well, had you lived through it you would have been rewarded with a pair of Ben Nevis reviews this week! Both from Elixir Distillers. Both from the newly famed 1996 vintage. And if you still believe in distinct differences between individual whisky vintages, despite knowing the intricacies and chemistry of single malt production, then tell The Easter Bunny I said hello. You'll have an easier time instead convincing me that the world's fate is controlled by some long bearded dude who lives above the clouds. His name is MAO. But if you want to send me some Caperdonich 1972 and Longrow 1973 samples, I won't stop you.

Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region: Highlands (Western)
Independent Bottler: Elixir Distillers
Range: The Whisky Trail
Age: 23 years old (1996-2019)
Maturation: hogshead
Cask #: 892
Outturn: 258 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 51.8%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Oh my. The nose is positively soaked with fresh lemons, grapefruits and loquats, with some mouldering stone fruits in the back. Then there's tapioca pudding, digestive biscuits, spent synthetic oil, stones and bung cloth. And the palate. There's a swirl of intensely tart fruits and bitter liqueurs and some industrial funk. It gets earthier and greasier with time, somehow also gaining a mintiness in the background. It has one of the earthiest finishes I've experienced, piles of soil and stones and diesel exhaust. Then a mix of Angostura bitters and yellow nectarines.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Yeah, it's good and stuff. But seriously, see those neat notes? It doesn't top those.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This has the WOW factor. Not a lot of distilleries can get there anymore, but......Ben Nevis, man. After twenty-three long years in a great hoggie this whisky delivers a long, gorgeous, complex and delicious experience, which has led to a rare instance of Diving for Pearls being more enthusiastic than the whiskybase crowd. I look at the unopened Ben Nevii on my shelf, knowing one has the goods, but can any of the rest reach this level?

Now, about this 1996 vintage...

Availability - Maybe a few retailers in Europe
Pricing - around €180
Rating - 91

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye (current green label)

This was the first new whisky I tried when I moved to Ohio almost four years ago. And by "new" I mean this green label version of Russell's rye is on a different plane than the old version. My first reaction was (per my notes), "dessert rye, but without going the full gooey like Angel's Envy". I'd been looking for a regular fancy-ish rye to replace Rendezvous Rye (since High West changed the recipe), which had replaced Willett (since Willett had capital "A" Arrived). This is a quality nominee.

Brand: Wild Turkey

Owner: Gruppo Campari
Range: Russell's Reserve
Distillery: Wild Turkey Distillery
Location: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Mash Bill: 65% rye, 23% corn, 12% barley (maybe)
Age: ???

Bottle code: LL/FC151802 B1702D0159

Alcohol by Volume: 52%

(from bottom third of my bottle)

The nose begins with a mix of spices, from baking spices to dried chiles. Then there's brown sugar, dried pineapple, sour apple candy, mint extract and anise. Some hints of salt water taffy, brine and bacon in the background as well. The palate's sweet, minty element stays balanced by tart citrus and wood smoke. Some salt, maple syrup and brown sugar in there. Just a little bit of canned pears too. The finish keeps the palate's equilibrium. Sweet (brown sugar and honey) and tart (lemons and limes) with bits of dusty ground pepper and wood smoke.

This rye manages to be both surprisingly complex and very very easy to drink. I'd given up trying to find both those qualities in an contemporary American whiskey, but maybe I shouldn't have. It also works well in a Manhattan, if you're in the habit of applying $65 whiskey to a cocktail. Whenever we empty our current open rye bottles, I'm going to pick up another bottle of this stuff. Hopefully the quality continues!

Availability - Most specialty retailers in the US
Pricing - $55-$75
Rating - 88

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel bourbon, barrel 93 for Cleveland Bourbon Club

This is from my actual bottle, but I can't find any bottle pics. I saved this sample, then sent some out to friends around two years ago. This Russell's Reserve was CBC's second bourbon selection ever and, more importantly, a good bottle that drank fast. I drank this sample alongside Monday's Russell's 10yo and *SPOILER ALERT* the competition was over quicker than it began.

Brand: Wild Turkey

Owner: Gruppo Campari
Range: Russell's Reserve
Distillery: Wild Turkey Distillery
Location: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Mash Bill: around 13% rye (probably)
Age: around 8 years old

Exclusive to: Cleveland Bourbon Club
Alcohol by Volume: 55%

(from somewhere in my bottle)

One notices immediately how much calmer the nose is despite the higher ABV and shorter maturation time, when the whiskey is compared to the Russell's 10yo. There are cherries, mixed nuts, toasted sesame seeds, roses, black raisins ...... yes, I'm going to go on ...... cotton candy, vanilla bean and hints of Elmer's glue and ground mustard seed. The palate leads with lots of citrus and marasca syrup. Then sea salt, dark chocolate and mild oak notes. It gets sweeter with time. The sweet, fruity finish (think cherry syrup and clementines) has a good length to it, and no weird tannins.

Yum. The winning combo here is more fruit, less tannin. And, yes, I probably should have gotten another bottle. We all know that tune. I enjoyed this pick while it lasted, in fact it's my only bourbon bottle in the past four years whose contents never swam in a cocktail. If bourbon was usually this good, I'd buy more bourbon! It's about time I try the regular version of this stuff, and I'll attempt to keep my expectations in check.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ????
Rating - 87

Russell's Reserve 10 year old bourbon (current white label)

The 14 or 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day used to mark my Bourbon Season. But over the past three years cocktails have gradually replaced bourbon during the hot weather, even though I live much closer to Bourbon Country than I used to. Russell's Reserve 10yo used to be a preferred bourbon as well, but my last bottle was forgettable at best. In fact, some friends and family finished off the bottle for me during the winter holidays. I saved two ounces for an official review, and since summer has begun....

Brand: Wild Turkey

Owner: Gruppo Campari
Range: Russell's Reserve
Distillery: Wild Turkey Distillery
Location: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Mash Bill: around 13% rye (probably)
Age: minimum 10 years old

Bottling code: LL/HH270507
Alcohol by Volume: 45%

(from the bottom third of my bottle)

It noses like I'm trapped inside a freshly charred barrel. That may sound heavenly to some folks, but I really can't detect anything else coming from the whiskey for a while, in fact it takes more than 20 minutes for other notes to appear. Then there's honey, orange peel, walnuts, newspaper and a hint of soap. The palate isn't as tannic as expected, instead there's some simple sweet citrus, tart blackberries, caramel and black pepper. But then it gets very very sweet, and the sawdust comes blowing in. It finishes with caramel, bitter oak, salt, tart berries and sawdust.

The last of my notes read, "Just not feeling this batch." (Curiously, the words "Small Batch" which were on the previous label-style of this expression are now absent. Is it because maintaining a straight face while calling these batches "small" became impossible?) The bourbon felt disposable, or at least interchangeable with younger, cheaper, historically-crappier stuff. It shows less bitter oak on the palate than WT101, but it's possible that 101's nose is better. The aggressive sweetness may also require extra tinkering when one uses this bourbon in cocktails. In case this is just a batch issue, I've listed the bottling code in the info section above. If it's not a batch issue, then RR10 isn't what it used to be.

Availability - United States and Japan
Pricing - $30-$50
Rating - 78

Three ol' Speyside/Highland samples from Whiskybase

Gosh, remember when Whiskybase Shop sold samples? Yeah they were tiny, but there were some gems. My three remaining Whiskybase samples are probably not gems, but they don't fit any other planned lineups and I need to consume my old samples, so here we are. They're sitting right here and I'm about to taste them side-by-side, and not in the order in the picture, instead I'll do 'em by age.

Deanston 15 year old 1997 Archives, hogshead #1959, 55.8%abv

So Deanston has become a thing. I know neither when nor why. Maybe it has something to do with Ian Macmillan's work? I dunno. If you were to go back in time 15 years and tell single malt geeks that Deanston and Edradour single casks would become popular someday, those folks would laugh in your face and exclaim, "Yeah, right after Ledaig gets overexposed."

Nose - It starts with a minty, sugary bourbon-like blast that gradually peels away baring toasted grains, dried herbs and hot cardboard. Adding water brings out more herbs, yeast and anise.

Palate - Vanilla, sugar and a hint of mint to start, again tilting towards bourbon. Some good herbal bitterness and a simple tartness adds character. It gets sweet, sour and papery once diluted.

Finish - Better than the palate. Vanilla, apples and lemon juice. Dilution turns it sour, bitter and papery.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Not one of Archives's best picks. I think the hogshead is more of a problem than the Deanston spirit. Keep water away from this one and perhaps it'll appeal to your American whiskey-drinking friends or your American whiskey-drinking self.

Rating range - C+ (77-79)

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Speyside Region 18 year old 1998 Archives, butt #1034, 52.7%abv

These "Speyside Region" malts are often Glenfarclas, sometimes Glenlivet and probably not the actual Speyside distillery. That's it for the introduction.

Nose - Milk chocolate, dried cherries, black pepper and balsamic vinegar with smaller notes of vanilla and limes in the background. Not much change once water is added, it's just flatter, quieter.

Palate - Mildly sweet with dried berries, toffee, cocoa and bits of earth and woody bitterness. Dilution sweetens it up, brings in the flowers and vanilla beans.

Finish - Milk chocolate, toffee and vanilla ice cream. A little bit of woody bitterness. Once diluted it matches the palate.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

A good middle-ground sherried thing, the whisky could indeed be from any Speyside production facility. I love the milk chocolate, but could do with less woody bitterness. Again, it's better when neat, and the nose proves to be the most complex element.

Rating range - B (84-86)

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Cragganmore 20 year old 1991 Whiskybroker, hogshead #1146, 53.4%abv

There needs to be more Cragganmore on this blog, but there ain't much Cragganmore around. No one samples it out and I don't live near a Cadenhead shop in Europe. I don't live in Europe, period.

Nose - Aw yeah. Iodine, mango pits, fish sauce, cucumber skins. Hints of malt and industrial funk. It gets waxier and herbal with dilution and even picks up a toffee pudding note.

Palate - Lean and not sweet. Industrial, metallic and earthy. Limes and herbal liqueur. A bit of butterscotch appears after some time. Lots of soot and citrus appear once water is added.

Finish - Inky and herbal. Some dunnage. Hints of lemon and butterscotch. Stays the same after dilution.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This whisky was such weird fun. I just adore this imperfect (or is it perfect?) dingy style, and I'm always on the lookout for it. But also, THIS BOTTLE WAS 46 EUROS. Eight years ago. I'm not saying everything in the world was better eight years ago but. 

Rating range - B+ (87-89)

A Pair of Glen Keiths

There aren't many Glen Keith reviews to be found on this site. The same goes for Imperial. Despite limited experience with both, I've already banded them together in my mind. The single malts are perfectly fine, and probably provided excellent backbones to a great many blends. I don't seek them out, even though they're defunct and/or newly reborn. Maybe they're not weird enough for me. I might have only one more Imperial sample somewhere, but I do have these two Glen Keiths supplied to me by doggo-lover and planter-of-hostas, My Annoying Opinions. I'm trying the two Keiths side by side just to prove to my palate that not every Glen Keith tastes the same.

Labels composed in middle-Sku style

Glen Keith 21 year old 1996 Single Malts of Scotland (Elixir Distillers)

Sherry butt 135908, 56.2%abv

pic yoinked
from Whiskybase

Nose - At first it's all fabric, nutty fino, black walnuts, mushrooms and an ocean breeze. Molasses, roses and dried apricots slowly emerge later on. Adding water perks it up, bringing out baked peaches and orange Pixy Stix, with hints of stones and wood smoke.

Palate - The nose's nutty fino shows up first with some very dark chocolate as its +1. Then there's lime zest and dried blueberries, essences rather than sugars. It gets zestier and mustier with time. It gets sweeter once water is added, bringing in cherry candy, mint extract and a bit of new oak.

Finish - Salt, minerals, limes and a hint of prune. Sweeter than the palate. With water it gets a curious mix of cherry candy and tahini.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I love love the nose when neat, and probably prefer the palate the same way. Water does sugar it up, resulting in two whiskies for the price of one. Whatever that price once was. Though the palate and finish didn't rock me like the sniffer, this is still the best damned Glen Keith I've ever had (out of, like, six). Kudos to the folks, like MAO, who nabbed this bottle.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 88 (neat)

THEN......

Glen Keith 22 year old 1995 Archives

Hogshead 171245, 56.0%abv

Nose - Much hotter than the 21yo. There's citronella, damp basement, something meaty/savory, brine, pilsner and nutritional yeast. More citrus and sugar emerges with time. It gets prettier with added water. Flower blossoms, citronella, vanilla and green bell peppers.

Palate - Whoa. Aqua Velva. I'm time warping back twenty-three years to a dirty-ass bathroom in Westwood, my blue bottle of AV Ice has tipped over into the bathroom sink and I'm out like $7.99 plus tax. Then I'm back in this dystopian future, and the whisky has ditched the aftershave becoming very sweet, very intense and very better. Think cantaloupe, oranges and candle wax. It gets even sweeter once I've added water, with notes of melon candy and citrus candy. Hints of florals, metal and herbal bitterness keep it from overboard.

Finish - Sweet and floral. Cantaloupe and tart oranges. A bit drying. Adding water doesn't change it much.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I have learned something today. Every Glen Keith does not taste the same. My stars. I do prefer this whisky when it is neat......once it straightens itself out. It's difficult to stir my dormant sweet tooth with anything other than Kasugai candies or butterscotch budinos, so this whisky will appeal more to sweetie pies. Like MAO. But this is certainly not a generic Speyside malt.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 82